The Toronto Raptors will look to get a win over one of the hottest teams in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, Feb. 5. Toronto is coming off a record-breaking performance for the franchise from shooting guard Fred VanVleet, and he will look to keep his success rolling against a quality opponent.. The game will get started at 7:30 p.m. ET from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Game Preview
Toronto will head into this game with a 9-12 record, which is last place in the Atlantic Division with the 10th best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference. After falling to a three-game losing skid, the Raptors have won each of their last two games, both of which came against the Orlando Magic.
Toronto earned a 123-108 road victory on Tuesday night over the Magic, and the Raptors were led by an incredible performance from VanVleet. He set a new Raptors’ franchise record with 54 points. VanVleet connected on 17 of 23 field goal attempts including 11 of 14 three-point attempts. The number of 3-pointers made was a career high for VanVleet. He also knocked down all nine of his free throw attempts in the victory. The previous scoring record for the franchise came on New Year’s Day in 2018 when DeMar DeRozan went for 52 points.
VanVleet continues to be one of the best stories in the NBA coming out of Wichita State as he went undrafted before becoming a real threat in the NBA. He capitalized in the offseason when he signed to a four-year, $85 million contract with the Raptors.
On the other side, Brooklyn comes in with a 14-9 record, which is second in the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference. The Nets are operating at an incredible level especially on the offensive ends with its three stars Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. The Nets won five of their last six games and are coming off a 124-120 home win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. In that game, Irving went for 39 points on 15 of 23 shooting including 6 of 8 from three-point range. In addition, Harden had a triple-double with 23 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds. Durant added 28 points on 11 of 13 shooting with nine rebounds. The Nets rank first in the NBA in scoring, averaging 122.3 points per game.
Injury Report
On the Raptors side, OG Anunoby will be held out once again with a calf injury, and center Aron Bynes is likely to play despite a groin injury.
For Brooklyn, Iman Shumpert is expected to be out of the health and safety protocols and should be available to the Nets. Nicolas Claxton is out for an extended period of time with a right knee injury.
Raptors vs. Nets Betting Odds
Oddsmakers have plenty of items for sports bettors to place wagers on ahead of Friday night’s matchup. All betting odds are via a popular United States sportsbook.
Point Spread
Toronto is heading into Friday night’s matchup as 5.5-point road underdogs with -110 on each side.
Betting trends: The Raptors are 6-3 against the spread in their last nine games against Brooklyn.
Point Total
Oddsmakers are projecting a ton of points to be scored in this game with the over/under set at 240, which is by far the highest number of all the games being played Friday. The “over” is getting -112 odds with the “under” at -109.
Betting trends: Brooklyn hit the over in 16 of its previous 17 games, and Toronto overs cashed in four of its last five games.
Moneyline
The oddsmakers expect the Nets to come away with a victory with moneyline odds at -210 with the Raptors at +175 to win as the underdog.
Betting trends: Brooklyn is 5-1 straight up in its last six games and won six in a row at home. Toronto is 10-1 straight in its last 12 games against Brooklyn.
